The project plan should be the basis for getting things done during an implementation. Without a project plan, you might as well buy a Conch and see what happens. Conch? Really? Please tell me that you got that Lord of the Flies reference. With a project plan, you’ll have some semblance of organization. (With less death on your hands) However, the hardest part of creating and maintaining a project is understanding the reality that should go into it. As reality changes during…
I first ran across the term Noble Obstacle in the book “Finish: Giving yourself the gift of done” – Read the review of the book here. A noble obstacle (noun) is an attempt to make your goal harder than it has to be, so you don’t have to finish, but can still look respectable. It can even seem wholly legitimate, but it’s just a distraction. A noble obstacle is built to push you farther away from the intended goal. Often,…
Satisficing – (verb) Pursuing the minimum acceptable results or outcome because that decision is familiar, hassle-free, and requires the least investigation. Herbert Simon first coined the term in 1956. The difference between satisficing and iterating is the idea of permanence. When you satisfice, you’ve accepted an end-state that is far less than ideal. When iterating, you accept a beginning state that is less than ideal but with plans to improve continually beyond the beginning state. Iterating implies growth. Satisficing implies…